Migration agent employing moveslice request

ABSTRACT

A migration agent, which is part of a distributed storage network, identifies one or more data objects stored as sets of encoded data slices in a first storage pool, and determines, for each of those data objects, whether to migrate corresponding sets of encoded data slices from the first storage pool to another storage pool. For at least one of the data objects, the migration agent determines to migrate a set of encoded data slices, and issues a set of MoveSlice requests to storage units included in the first storage pool, from which the data slices will be migrated. In response to the MoveSlice requests, the migration agent receives MoveSlice responses from the storage units in the first storage pool. If a threshold number of favorable MoveSlice responses is received, the migration agent facilitates deletion of the migrated encoded data slices from the first storage pool.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present U.S. Utility patent application claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 120 as a continuation-in-part of U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 15/006,845, entitled “PRIORITIZING REBUILDING OF ENCODED DATA SLICES” filed Jan. 26, 2016, which claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/141,034, entitled “REBUILDING ENCODED DATA SLICES ASSOCIATED WITH STORAGE ERRORS,” filed Mar. 31, 2015, all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety and made part of the present U.S. Utility patent application for all purposes.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

This invention relates generally to computer networks and more particularly to dispersing error encoded data.

Description of Related Art

Computing devices are known to communicate data, process data, and/or store data. Such computing devices range from wireless smart phones, laptops, tablets, personal computers (PC), work stations, and video game devices, to data centers that support millions of web searches, stock trades, or on-line purchases every day. In general, a computing device includes a central processing unit (CPU), a memory system, user input/output interfaces, peripheral device interfaces, and an interconnecting bus structure.

As is further known, a computer may effectively extend its CPU by using “cloud computing” to perform one or more computing functions (e.g., a service, an application, an algorithm, an arithmetic logic function, etc.) on behalf of the computer. Further, for large services, applications, and/or functions, cloud computing may be performed by multiple cloud computing resources in a distributed manner to improve the response time for completion of the service, application, and/or function. For example, Hadoop is an open source software framework that supports distributed applications enabling application execution by thousands of computers.

In addition to cloud computing, a computer may use “cloud storage” as part of its memory system. As is known, cloud storage enables a user, via its computer, to store files, applications, etc. on an Internet storage system. The Internet storage system may include a RAID (redundant array of independent disks) system and/or a dispersed storage system that uses an error correction scheme to encode data for storage.

In some conventional distributed storage systems, storage units responsible for distributed storage of various data portions are tasked with transferring data between each other as part of a data redistribution or migration protocol. In some cases, however, decisions regarding where to move the data do not take into account where other data, which may be related to the data being migrated, is stored. When migrating data, failing to account for the locations where related data is stored can lead to migration of the data to less-than-ideal storage units, potentially causing undesired geographic or logical data fragmentation, inefficient use of link resources, consistency errors, data conflicts with data portions already stored on the destination storage unit, or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a dispersed or distributed storage network (DSN) in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a computing core in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of an example of dispersed storage error encoding of data in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a generic example of an error encoding function in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a specific example of an error encoding function in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of an example of a slice name of an encoded data slice (EDS) in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of an example of dispersed storage error decoding of data in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a generic example of an error decoding function in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a decentralized agreement module in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of selecting the resource in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a dispersed storage network (DSN) in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of accessing a dispersed storage network (DSN) memory in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a dispersed storage network (DSN) in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of migrating encoded data slices from a first storage pool to a second storage pool in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a dispersed, or distributed, storage network (DSN) 10 that includes a plurality of computing devices 12-16, a managing unit 18, an integrity processing unit 20, and a DSN memory 22. The components of the DSN 10 are coupled to a network 24, which may include one or more wireless and/or wire lined communication systems; one or more non-public intranet systems and/or public internet systems; and/or one or more local area networks (LAN) and/or wide area networks (WAN).

The DSN memory 22 includes a plurality of storage units 36 that may be located at geographically different sites (e.g., one in Chicago, one in Milwaukee, etc.), at a common site, or a combination thereof. For example, if the DSN memory 22 includes eight storage units 36, each storage unit is located at a different site. As another example, if the DSN memory 22 includes eight storage units 36, all eight storage units are located at the same site. As yet another example, if the DSN memory 22 includes eight storage units 36, a first pair of storage units are at a first common site, a second pair of storage units are at a second common site, a third pair of storage units are at a third common site, and a fourth pair of storage units are at a fourth common site. Note that a DSN memory 22 may include more or less than eight storage units 36. Further note that each storage unit 36 includes a computing core (as shown in FIG. 2, or components thereof) and a plurality of memory devices for storing dispersed error encoded data.

Each of the computing devices 12-16, the managing unit 18, and the integrity processing unit 20 include a computing core 26, which includes network interfaces 30-33. Computing devices 12-16 may each be a portable computing device and/or a fixed computing device. A portable computing device may be a social networking device, a gaming device, a cell phone, a smart phone, a digital assistant, a digital music player, a digital video player, a laptop computer, a handheld computer, a tablet, a video game controller, and/or any other portable device that includes a computing core. A fixed computing device may be a computer (PC), a computer server, a cable set-top box, a satellite receiver, a television set, a printer, a fax machine, home entertainment equipment, a video game console, and/or any type of home or office computing equipment. Note that each of the managing unit 18 and the integrity processing unit 20 may be separate computing devices, may be a common computing device, and/or may be integrated into one or more of the computing devices 12-16 and/or into one or more of the storage units 36.

Each interface 30, 32, and 33 includes software and hardware to support one or more communication links via the network 24 indirectly and/or directly. For example, interface 30 supports a communication link (e.g., wired, wireless, direct, via a LAN, via the network 24, etc.) between computing devices 14 and 16. As another example, interface 32 supports communication links (e.g., a wired connection, a wireless connection, a LAN connection, and/or any other type of connection to/from the network 24) between computing devices 12 and 16 and the DSN memory 22. As yet another example, interface 33 supports a communication link for each of the managing unit 18 and the integrity processing unit 20 to the network 24.

Computing devices 12 and 16 include a dispersed storage (DS) client module 34, which enables the computing device to dispersed storage error encode and decode data (e.g., data 40) as subsequently described with reference to one or more of FIGS. 3-8. In this example embodiment, computing device 16 functions as a dispersed storage processing agent for computing device 14. In this role, computing device 16 dispersed storage error encodes and decodes data on behalf of computing device 14. With the use of dispersed storage error encoding and decoding, the DSN 10 is tolerant of a significant number of storage unit failures (the number of failures is based on parameters of the dispersed storage error encoding function) without loss of data and without the need for a redundant or backup copies of the data. Further, the DSN 10 stores data for an indefinite period of time without data loss and in a secure manner (e.g., the system is very resistant to unauthorized attempts at accessing the data).

In operation, the managing unit 18 performs DS management services. For example, the managing unit 18 establishes distributed data storage parameters (e.g., vault creation, distributed storage parameters, security parameters, billing information, user profile information, etc.) for computing devices 12-14 individually or as part of a group of user devices. As a specific example, the managing unit 18 coordinates creation of a vault (e.g., a virtual memory block associated with a portion of an overall namespace of the DSN) within the DSN memory 22 for a user device, a group of devices, or for public access and establishes per vault dispersed storage (DS) error encoding parameters for a vault. The managing unit 18 facilitates storage of DS error encoding parameters for each vault by updating registry information of the DSN 10, where the registry information may be stored in the DSN memory 22, a computing device 12-16, the managing unit 18, and/or the integrity processing unit 20.

The managing unit 18 creates and stores user profile information (e.g., an access control list (ACL)) in local memory and/or within memory of the DSN memory 22. The user profile information includes authentication information, permissions, and/or the security parameters. The security parameters may include encryption/decryption scheme, one or more encryption keys, key generation scheme, and/or data encoding/decoding scheme.

The managing unit 18 creates billing information for a particular user, a user group, a vault access, public vault access, etc. For instance, the managing unit 18 tracks the number of times a user accesses a non-public vault and/or public vaults, which can be used to generate a per-access billing information. In another instance, the managing unit 18 tracks the amount of data stored and/or retrieved by a user device and/or a user group, which can be used to generate a per-data-amount billing information.

As another example, the managing unit 18 performs network operations, network administration, and/or network maintenance. Network operations includes authenticating user data allocation requests (e.g., read and/or write requests), managing creation of vaults, establishing authentication credentials for user devices, adding/deleting components (e.g., user devices, storage units, and/or computing devices with a DS client module 34) to/from the DSN 10, and/or establishing authentication credentials for the storage units 36. Network administration includes monitoring devices and/or units for failures, maintaining vault information, determining device and/or unit activation status, determining device and/or unit loading, and/or determining any other system level operation that affects the performance level of the DSN 10. Network maintenance includes facilitating replacing, upgrading, repairing, and/or expanding a device and/or unit of the DSN 10.

The integrity processing unit 20 performs rebuilding of ‘bad’ or missing encoded data slices. At a high level, the integrity processing unit 20 performs rebuilding by periodically attempting to retrieve/list encoded data slices, and/or slice names of the encoded data slices, from the DSN memory 22. For retrieved encoded slices, they are checked for errors due to data corruption, outdated version, etc. If a slice includes an error, it is flagged as a ‘bad’ slice. For encoded data slices that were not received and/or not listed, they are flagged as missing slices. Bad and/or missing slices are subsequently rebuilt using other retrieved encoded data slices that are deemed to be good slices to produce rebuilt slices. The rebuilt slices are stored in the DSN memory 22.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a computing core 26 that includes a processing module 50, a memory controller 52, main memory 54, a video graphics processing unit 55, an input/output (IO) controller 56, a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) interface 58, an IO interface module 60, at least one IO device interface module 62, a read only memory (ROM) basic input output system (BIOS) 64, and one or more memory interface modules. The one or more memory interface module(s) includes one or more of a universal serial bus (USB) interface module 66, a host bus adapter (HBA) interface module 68, a network interface module 70, a flash interface module 72, a hard drive interface module 74, and a DSN interface module 76.

The DSN interface module 76 functions to mimic a conventional operating system (OS) file system interface (e.g., network file system (NFS), flash file system (FFS), disk file system (DFS), file transfer protocol (FTP), web-based distributed authoring and versioning (WebDAV), etc.) and/or a block memory interface (e.g., small computer system interface (SCSI), internet small computer system interface (iSCSI), etc.). The DSN interface module 76 and/or the network interface module 70 may function as one or more of the interface 30-33 of FIG. 1. Note that the IO device interface module 62 and/or the memory interface modules 66-76 may be collectively or individually referred to as IO ports.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of an example of dispersed storage error encoding of data. When a computing device 12 or 16 has data to store it disperse storage error encodes the data in accordance with a dispersed storage error encoding process based on dispersed storage error encoding parameters. The dispersed storage error encoding parameters include an encoding function (e.g., information dispersal algorithm, Reed-Solomon, Cauchy Reed-Solomon, systematic encoding, non-systematic encoding, on-line codes, etc.), a data segmenting protocol (e.g., data segment size, fixed, variable, etc.), and per data segment encoding values. The per data segment encoding values include a total, or pillar width, number (T) of encoded data slices per encoding of a data segment (i.e., in a set of encoded data slices); a decode threshold number (D) of encoded data slices of a set of encoded data slices that are needed to recover the data segment; a read threshold number (R) of encoded data slices to indicate a number of encoded data slices per set to be read from storage for decoding of the data segment; and/or a write threshold number (W) to indicate a number of encoded data slices per set that must be accurately stored before the encoded data segment is deemed to have been properly stored. The dispersed storage error encoding parameters may further include slicing information (e.g., the number of encoded data slices that will be created for each data segment) and/or slice security information (e.g., per encoded data slice encryption, compression, integrity checksum, etc.).

In the present example, Cauchy Reed-Solomon has been selected as the encoding function (a generic example is shown in FIG. 4 and a specific example is shown in FIG. 5); the data segmenting protocol is to divide the data object into fixed sized data segments; and the per data segment encoding values include: a pillar width of 5, a decode threshold of 3, a read threshold of 4, and a write threshold of 4. In accordance with the data segmenting protocol, the computing device 12 or 16 divides the data (e.g., a file (e.g., text, video, audio, etc.), a data object, or other data arrangement) into a plurality of fixed sized data segments (e.g., 1 through Y of a fixed size in range of Kilo-bytes to Tera-bytes or more). The number of data segments created is dependent of the size of the data and the data segmenting protocol.

The computing device 12 or 16 then disperse storage error encodes a data segment using the selected encoding function (e.g., Cauchy Reed-Solomon) to produce a set of encoded data slices. FIG. 4 illustrates a generic Cauchy Reed-Solomon encoding function, which includes an encoding matrix (EM), a data matrix (DM), and a coded matrix (CM). The size of the encoding matrix (EM) is dependent on the pillar width number (T) and the decode threshold number (D) of selected per data segment encoding values. To produce the data matrix (DM), the data segment is divided into a plurality of data blocks and the data blocks are arranged into D number of rows with Z data blocks per row. Note that Z is a function of the number of data blocks created from the data segment and the decode threshold number (D). The coded matrix is produced by matrix multiplying the data matrix by the encoding matrix.

FIG. 5 illustrates a specific example of Cauchy Reed-Solomon encoding with a pillar number (T) of five and decode threshold number of three. In this example, a first data segment is divided into twelve data blocks (D1-D12). The coded matrix includes five rows of coded data blocks, where the first row of X11-X14 corresponds to a first encoded data slice (EDS 1_1), the second row of X21-X24 corresponds to a second encoded data slice (EDS 2_1), the third row of X31-X34 corresponds to a third encoded data slice (EDS 3_1), the fourth row of X41-X44 corresponds to a fourth encoded data slice (EDS 4_1), and the fifth row of X51-X54 corresponds to a fifth encoded data slice (EDS 5_1). Note that the second number of the EDS designation corresponds to the data segment number.

Returning to the discussion of FIG. 3, the computing device also creates a slice name (SN) for each encoded data slice (EDS) in the set of encoded data slices. A typical format for a slice name 80 is shown in FIG. 6. As shown, the slice name (SN) 80 includes a pillar number of the encoded data slice (e.g., one of 1-T), a data segment number (e.g., one of 1-Y), a vault identifier (ID), a data object identifier (ID), and may further include revision level information of the encoded data slices. The slice name functions as, at least part of, a DSN address for the encoded data slice for storage and retrieval from the DSN memory 22.

As a result of encoding, the computing device 12 or 16 produces a plurality of sets of encoded data slices, which are provided with their respective slice names to the storage units for storage. As shown, the first set of encoded data slices includes EDS 1_1 through EDS 5_1 and the first set of slice names includes SN 1_1 through SN 5_1 and the last set of encoded data slices includes EDS 1_Y through EDS 5_Y and the last set of slice names includes SN 1_Y through SN 5_Y.

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of an example of dispersed storage error decoding of a data object that was dispersed storage error encoded and stored in the example of FIG. 4. In this example, the computing device 12 or 16 retrieves from the storage units at least the decode threshold number of encoded data slices per data segment. As a specific example, the computing device retrieves a read threshold number of encoded data slices.

To recover a data segment from a decode threshold number of encoded data slices, the computing device uses a decoding function as shown in FIG. 8. As shown, the decoding function is essentially an inverse of the encoding function of FIG. 4. The coded matrix includes a decode threshold number of rows (e.g., three in this example) and the decoding matrix in an inversion of the encoding matrix that includes the corresponding rows of the coded matrix. For example, if the coded matrix includes rows 1, 2, and 4, the encoding matrix is reduced to rows 1, 2, and 4, and then inverted to produce the decoding matrix.

Referring next to FIGS. 9-14, coordinated data migration using a migration agent will be discussed according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. When using a Distributed Agreement Protocol (DAP) to handle migration of data sources from one storage pool to another, it is generally possible to arrange the additional distributed storage (DS) units of the newly added storage pool such that they are relatively local, and connected by fast/inexpensive links, to the DS units which will be transferring data between each other as part of the redistribution of data according to the DAP. In some embodiments, to help reduce or minimize consistency errors, an attempt is made to ensure that a fully readable and restorable source exists on an entire pool of DS units, rather than some slices existing on one but not another. To accomplish this, all slices of a given source can be transferred together, as part of one managed operation, rather than individual DS units deciding which slices to move and when to move them without consideration of the related slices for that source on other DS units. In at least some embodiments, this coordination is provided by a migration agent.

The migration agent can determine, for a given source to be migrated, on which DS units those slices are held. To avoid the bottleneck and expense involved with having the migration agent read these slices and then write them to the DS units of the new storage pool, a new protocol message is introduced: the “MoveSlice” Request. This request is issued by the Migration agent to its peers within its storage pool that hold slices of a source to be moved to a new storage pool. The request indicates at least one slice name to be moved. In response the recipient ds unit returns a MoveSlice Response, which indicates the revisions of that slice name that it holds, and the revisions that it was able to successfully transfer to the appropriate ds unit in the new storage pool, as well as the identity of that storage pool. This determination of which storage pool to move it to can be based on the DAP). If the ds unit determines there is no alternate pool it should be moved to, it returns an error indictor. If it fails to transfer any revisions of the slice, it returns an empty list of “successfully moved slices” in the response. The migration agent considers, based on the responses from up to a width number of DS units, whether the latest restorable revision was successfully transferred to at least a write threshold number of DS units on the same alternate storage pool. If it was successfully transferred, then the migration agent will initiate a cleanup of that slice on its own storage pool, e.g. via finalize/undo. The MoveSlice request allows a highly parallelized, local, and point-to-point transfer of slices, greatly accelerating the speed of the migration while minimizing cost.”

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a decentralized agreement module 350 that includes a set of deterministic functions 1-N, a set of normalizing functions 1-N, a set of scoring functions 1-N, and a ranking function 352. Each of the deterministic function, the normalizing function, the scoring function, and the ranking function 352, may be implemented utilizing the computing core 26 of FIG. 2. The decentralized agreement module 350 may be implemented utilizing any module and/or unit of a dispersed storage network (DSN). For example, the decentralized agreement module can be implemented utilizing processing module 84, which can include the distributed storage (DS) client module 34 of FIG. 1, the computing core 26 of FIG. 2, or the like.

The decentralized agreement module 350 functions to receive a ranked scoring information request 354 and to generate ranked scoring information 358 based on the ranked scoring information request 354 and other information. The ranked scoring information request 354 includes one or more of an asset identifier (ID) 356 of an asset associated with the request, an asset type indicator, one or more location identifiers of locations associated with the DSN, one or more corresponding location weights, and a requesting entity ID. The asset includes any portion of data associated with the DSN including one or more asset types including a data object, a data record, an encoded data slice, a data segment, a set of encoded data slices, and a plurality of sets of encoded data slices. As such, the asset ID 356 of the asset includes one or more of a data name, a data record identifier, a source name, a slice name, and a plurality of sets of slice names.

Each location of the DSN includes an aspect of a DSN resource. Examples of locations includes one or more of a storage unit, a memory device of the storage unit, a site, a storage pool of storage units, a pillar index associated with each encoded data slice of a set of encoded data slices generated by an information dispersal algorithm (IDA), a DS client module 34 of FIG. 1, a distributed storage and task (DST) processing unit, such as computing device 16 of FIG. 1, an integrity processing unit 20 of FIG. 1, a managing unit 18 of FIG. 1, a user device such as computing devices 12 or 14 of FIG. 1.

Each location is associated with a location weight based on one or more of a resource prioritization of utilization scheme and physical configuration of the DSN. The location weight includes an arbitrary bias which adjusts a proportion of selections to an associated location such that a probability that an asset will be mapped to that location is equal to the location weight divided by a sum of all location weights for all locations of comparison. For example, each storage pool of a plurality of storage pools is associated with a location weight based on storage capacity. For instance, storage pools with more storage capacity are associated with higher location weights than others. The other information may include a set of location identifiers and a set of location weights associated with the set of location identifiers. For example, the other information includes location identifiers and location weights associated with a set of memory devices of a storage unit when the requesting entity utilizes the decentralized agreement module 350 to produce ranked scoring information 358 with regards to selection of a memory device of the set of memory devices for accessing a particular encoded data slice (e.g., where the asset ID includes a slice name of the particular encoded data slice).

The decentralized agreement module 350 outputs substantially identical ranked scoring information for each ranked scoring information request that includes substantially identical content of the ranked scoring information request. For example, a first requesting entity issues a first ranked scoring information request to the decentralized agreement module 350 and receives first ranked scoring information. A second requesting entity issues a second ranked scoring information request to the decentralized agreement module and receives second ranked scoring information. The second ranked scoring information is substantially the same as the first ranked scoring information when the second ranked scoring information request is substantially the same as the first ranked scoring information request.

As such, two or more requesting entities may utilize the decentralized agreement module 350 to determine substantially identical ranked scoring information. As a specific example, the first requesting entity selects a first storage pool of a plurality of storage pools for storing a set of encoded data slices utilizing the decentralized agreement module 350 and the second requesting entity identifies the first storage pool of the plurality of storage pools for retrieving the set of encoded data slices utilizing the decentralized agreement module 350.

In an example of operation, the decentralized agreement module 350 receives the ranked scoring information request 354. Each deterministic function performs a deterministic function on a combination and/or concatenation (e.g., add, append, interleave) of the asset ID 356 of the ranked scoring information request 354 and an associated location ID of the set of location IDs to produce an interim result. The deterministic function includes at least one of a hashing function, a hash-based message authentication code function, a mask generating function, a cyclic redundancy code function, hashing module of a number of locations, consistent hashing, rendezvous hashing, and a sponge function. As a specific example, deterministic function 2 appends a location ID 2 of a storage pool 2 to a source name as the asset ID to produce a combined value and performs the mask generating function on the combined value to produce interim result 2.

With a set of interim results 1-N, each normalizing function performs a normalizing function on a corresponding interim result to produce a corresponding normalized interim result. The performing of the normalizing function includes dividing the interim result by a number of possible permutations of the output of the deterministic function to produce the normalized interim result. For example, normalizing function 2 performs the normalizing function on the interim result 2 to produce a normalized interim result 2.

With a set of normalized interim results 1-N, each scoring function performs a scoring function on a corresponding normalized interim result to produce a corresponding score. The performing of the scoring function includes dividing an associated location weight by a negative log of the normalized interim result. For example, scoring function 2 divides location weight 2 of the storage pool 2 (e.g., associated with location ID 2) by a negative log of the normalized interim result 2 to produce a score 2.

With a set of scores 1-N, the ranking function 352 performs a ranking function on the set of scores 1-N to generate the ranked scoring information 358. The ranking function includes rank ordering each score with other scores of the set of scores 1-N, where a highest score is ranked first. As such, a location associated with the highest score may be considered a highest priority location for resource utilization (e.g., accessing, storing, retrieving, etc., the given asset of the request). Having generated the ranked scoring information 358, the decentralized agreement module 350 outputs the ranked scoring information 358 to the requesting entity.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of selecting a resource. The method begins or continues at step 360 where a processing module (e.g., of a decentralized agreement module) receives a ranked scoring information request from a requesting entity with regards to a set of candidate resources. For each candidate resource, the method continues at step 362 where the processing module performs a deterministic function on a location identifier (ID) of the candidate resource and an asset ID of the ranked scoring information request to produce an interim result. As a specific example, the processing module combines the asset ID and the location ID of the candidate resource to produce a combined value and performs a hashing function on the combined value to produce the interim result.

For each interim result, the method continues at step 364 where the processing module performs a normalizing function on the interim result to produce a normalized interim result. As a specific example, the processing module obtains a permutation value associated with the deterministic function (e.g., maximum number of permutations of output of the deterministic function) and divides the interim result by the permutation value to produce the normalized interim result (e.g., with a value between 0 and 1).

For each normalized interim result, the method continues at step 366 where the processing module performs a scoring function on the normalized interim result utilizing a location weight associated with the candidate resource associated with the interim result to produce a score of a set of scores. As a specific example, the processing module divides the location weight by a negative log of the normalized interim result to produce the score.

The method continues at step 368 where the processing module rank orders the set of scores to produce ranked scoring information (e.g., ranking a highest value first). The method continues at step 370 where the processing module outputs the ranked scoring information to the requesting entity. The requesting entity may utilize the ranked scoring information to select one location of a plurality of locations.

FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a dispersed storage network (DSN) that includes the distributed storage (DST) processing unit 383, which can be implemented using computing device 16 of FIG. 1, the network 24 of FIG. 1, and the distributed storage network (DSN) memory 22 of FIG. 1. Hereafter, the DSN memory 22 may be interchangeably referred to as a DSN memory. The DST processing unit 383 includes a decentralized agreement module 380 and processing module 84, which can be implemented using computing core 26 of FIG. 2. The decentralized agreement module 380 be implemented utilizing the decentralized agreement module 350 of FIG. 9. The DSN memory 22 includes a plurality of DST execution (EX) unit pools 1-P. Each DST execution unit pool includes one or more sites 1-S. Each site includes one or more DST execution units 1-N. Each DST execution unit may be associated with at least one pillar of N pillars associated with an information dispersal algorithm (IDA), where a data segment is dispersed storage error encoded using the IDA to produce one or more sets of encoded data slices, and where each set includes N encoded data slices and like encoded data slices (e.g., slice 3's) of two or more sets of encoded data slices are included in a common pillar (e.g., pillar 3). Each site may not include every pillar and a given pillar may be implemented at more than one site. Each DST execution unit includes a plurality of memories 1-M. Each DST execution unit may be implemented utilizing the storage unit 36 of FIG. 1. Hereafter, a DST execution unit may be referred to interchangeably as a storage unit and a set of DST execution units may be interchangeably referred to as a set of storage units and/or as a storage unit set.

The DSN functions to receive data access requests 382, select resources of at least one DST execution unit pool for data access, utilize the selected DST execution unit pool for the data access, and issue a data access response 392 based on the data access. The selecting of the resources includes utilizing a decentralized agreement function of the decentralized agreement module 380, where a plurality of locations are ranked against each other. The selecting may include selecting one storage pool of the plurality of storage pools, selecting DST execution units at various sites of the plurality of sites, selecting a memory of the plurality of memories for each DST execution unit, and selecting combinations of memories, DST execution units, sites, pillars, and storage pools.

In an example of operation, the processing module 84 receives the data access request 382 from a requesting entity, where the data access request 382 includes at least one of a store data request, a retrieve data request, a delete data request, a data name, and a requesting entity identifier (ID). Having received the data access request 382, the processing module 84 determines a DSN address associated with the data access request. The DSN address includes at least one of a source name (e.g., including a vault ID and an object number associated with the data name), a data segment ID, a set of slice names, a plurality of sets of slice names. The determining includes at least one of generating (e.g., for the store data request) and retrieving (e.g., from a DSN directory, from a dispersed hierarchical index) based on the data name (e.g., for the retrieve data request).

Having determined the DSN address, processing module 84 selects a plurality of resource levels (e.g., DST EX unit pool, site, DST execution unit, pillar, memory) associated with the DSN memory 22. The determining may be based on one or more of the data name, the requesting entity ID, a predetermination, a lookup, a DSN performance indicator, and interpreting an error message. For example, the processing module 84 selects the DST execution unit pool as a first resource level and a set of memory devices of a plurality of memory devices as a second resource level based on a system registry lookup for a vault associated with the requesting entity.

Having selected the plurality of resource levels, the processing module 84, for each resource level, issues a ranked scoring information request 384 to the decentralized agreement module 380 utilizing the DSN address as an asset ID. The decentralized agreement module 380 performs the decentralized agreement function based on the asset ID (e.g., the DSN address), identifiers of locations of the selected resource levels, and location weights of the locations to generate ranked scoring information 386.

For each resource level, the processing module 84 receives corresponding ranked scoring information 386. Having received the ranked scoring information 386, the processing module 84 identifies one or more resources associated with the resource level based on the rank scoring information 386. For example, the processing module 84 identifies a DST execution unit pool associated with a highest score and identifies a set of memory devices within DST execution units of the identified DST execution unit pool with a highest score.

Having identified the one or more resources, the processing module 84 accesses the DSN memory 22 based on the identified one or more resources associated with each resource level. For example, the processing module 84 issues resource access requests 388 (e.g., write slice requests when storing data, read slice requests when recovering data) to the identified DST execution unit pool, where the resource access requests 388 further identify the identified set of memory devices. Having accessed the DSN memory 22, the processing module 84 receives resource access responses 390 (e.g., write slice responses, read slice responses). The processing module 84 issues the data access response 392 based on the received resource access responses 390. For example, the processing module 84 decodes received encoded data slices to reproduce data and generates the data access response 392 to include the reproduced data.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of accessing a dispersed storage network (DSN) memory. The method begins or continues at step 394 where a processing module (e.g., of a distributed storage and task (DST) client module) receives a data access request from a requesting entity. The data access request includes one or more of a storage request, a retrieval request, a requesting entity identifier, and a data identifier (ID). The method continues at step 396 where the processing module determines a DSN address associated with the data access request. For example, the processing module generates the DSN address for the storage request. As another example, the processing module performs a lookup for the retrieval request based on the data identifier.

The method continues at step 398 where the processing module selects a plurality of resource levels associated with the DSN memory. The selecting may be based on one or more of a predetermination, a range of weights associated with available resources, a resource performance level, and a resource performance requirement level. For each resource level, the method continues at step 400 where the processing module determines ranked scoring information. For example, the processing module issues a ranked scoring information request to a decentralized agreement module based on the DSN address and receives corresponding ranked scoring information for the resource level, where the decentralized agreement module performs a decentralized agreement protocol function on the DSN address using the associated resource identifiers and resource weights for the resource level to produce the ranked scoring information for the resource level.

For each resource level, the method continues at step 402 where the processing module selects one or more resources associated with the resource level based on the ranked scoring information. For example, the processing module selects a resource associated with a highest score when one resource is required. As another example, the processing module selects a plurality of resources associated with highest scores when a plurality of resources are required.

The method continues at step 404 where the processing module accesses the DSN memory utilizing the selected one or more resources for each of the plurality of resource levels. For example, the processing module identifies network addressing information based on the selected resources including one or more of a storage unit Internet protocol address and a memory device identifier, generates a set of encoded data slice access requests based on the data access request and the DSN address, and sends the set of encoded data slice access requests to the DSN memory utilizing the identified network addressing information.

The method continues at step 406 where the processing module issues a data access response to the requesting entity based on one or more resource access responses from the DSN memory. For example, the processing module issues a data storage status indicator when storing data. As another example, the processing module generates the data access response to include recovered data when retrieving data.

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of a dispersed storage network (DSN) that includes a migration agent 630, the network 24 of FIG. 1, and a plurality of distributed storage and task (DST) execution (EX) unit pools 1-P. The migration agent 630 includes a decentralized agreement module 632 and a processing module 84 implemented using computing core 26 of FIG. 2. The decentralized agreement module 632 may be implemented utilizing the decentralized agreement module 350 of FIG. 9. The migration agent 630 may be implemented utilizing one or more of the computing device 16 of FIG. 1, the integrity processing unit 20 of FIG. 1, and the storage unit 36 of FIG. 1. Each DST execution unit pool includes a set of DST execution units 1-n. Each DST execution unit may be implemented utilizing the storage unit 36 of FIG. 1.

The DSN functions to migrate encoded data slices from a first storage pool to a second storage pool, where one or more data objects are stored as sets of encoded data slices in at least one DST execution unit pool. For example, a data object A is stored as one or more sets of encoded data slices A-1 through A-n in the DST execution units 1-n of the DST execution unit pool 1, a data object Z is stored as one or more sets of encoded data slices Z-1 through Z-n in the DST execution units 1-n of the DST execution unit pool 1, and a data object W is stored as one or more sets of encoded data slices W-1 through W-n in the DST execution units 1-n of the DST execution unit pool 2.

In an example of operation of the migrating of the encoded data slices, the processing module 84 identifies one or more data objects stored as sets of encoded data slices in the first DST execution unit pool. The identifying includes at least one of interpreting a DSN directory, interpreting entries of a dispersed hierarchical index, interpreting one or more list slice responses, and interpreting a received request.

For each data object, the processing module 84 determines whether to migrate the corresponding sets of encoded data slices to another storage pool. For example, the processing module 84, for each DST execution unit pool, issues a ranked scoring information request 634 to the decentralized agreement module 632 where the request includes a DSN address of the data object, a location weight of the DST execution unit pool, and an identifier of the DST execution unit pool; receives ranked scoring information 636 in response; identifies a DST execution unit pool associated with a highest score of the ranked scoring information (e.g., a DST execution unit pool currently associated with the data object); and indicates to migrate when the identified DST execution unit pool is different than the first DST execution unit pool. As another example, the processing module 84 indicates to migrate when detecting activation of the other storage pool (e.g., activation of the DST execution unit pool 2). As yet another example, the processing module 84 indicates to migrate when detecting that storage utilization of the DST execution unit pool 1 compares unfavorably to a storage utilization threshold level.

When migrating, for each identified data object, the processing module 84 issues (e.g., generates and sends) a set of MoveSlice requests to the DST execution units of the DST execution unit pool 1, where the requests includes one or more of a slice name, a slice name range of associated with storage of the sets of encoded data slices of the data object, identity of corresponding DST execution units of the identified DST execution unit pool. For example, the processing module 84 sends, via the network 24, MoveSlice requests A-1 through A-n to the DST execution units 1-n of the DST execution unit pool 1.

Each DST execution unit receiving a MoveSlice request issues a write slice request to a corresponding DST execution unit of the identified DST execution unit pool, where the write slice request includes encoded data slice for migration. For example, the DST execution units 1-n initiate sending of the encoded data slices A-1 through A-n via the network 24 to the DST execution units 2. Alternatively, or in addition to, the DST execution unit of the DST execution unit pool 1 verifies the destination of the slice migration by performing the distributed agreement protocol function to verify that the identified DST execution unit pool is associated with a highest score of re-ranked scoring information.

The processing module 84 facilitates deletion of the stored encoded data slices of the move data object when receiving a threshold number of favorable MoveSlice responses from at least some DST execution units of the DST execution unit pool. For example, the processing module 84 issues delete slice requests to the DST execution unit pool 1 with regards to the sets of encoded data slices A-1 through A-n when receiving a threshold number (e.g., a write threshold number) of MoveSlice responses A-1 through A-n indicating success in moving the associated encoded data slices. The processing module 84 may further update at least one of a DSN directory and a dispersed hierarchical index to disassociate slice names of the migrated encoded data slices from the DST execution unit pool 1 and associate the slice names with the DST execution unit pool 2 to facilitate subsequent retrieval of the data object A from the DST execution unit pool 2 when not utilizing the distributed agreement protocol function to identify the DST execution unit pool 2.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of migrating encoded data slices from a first storage pool to a second storage pool. The method includes step 640 where a processing module (e.g., of a distributed storage and task (DST) client module, of a migration agent) identifies one or more data objects stored as sets of encoded data slices in a first storage pool of a dispersed storage network (DSN). The identifying includes at least one of interpreting a DSN directory, interpreting an entry of a dispersed hierarchical index, interpreting one or more list slice responses, and interpreting a received migration request.

For each data object, the method continues at step 642 where the processing module determines whether to migrate corresponding sets of encoded data slices from the first storage pool to another storage pool. For example, for each storage pool, the processing module performs a distributed agreement protocol function on a DSN address of the data object utilizing a location weight of the storage pool to produce a score of ranked scoring information for the storage pools, identifies an associated storage pool based on the ranked scoring information (e.g., highest score) and indicates to migrate when the identified storage pool is different than the first storage pool.

When migrating, the method continues at step 644, where, for each data object, the processing module issues a set of MoveSlice requests to storage units of the first storage pool, where each MoveSlice request identifies a slice name of encoded data slice to be moved from the first storage pool to the other storage pool. For example, the processing module generates the set of MoveSlice requests and sends the set of MoveSlice requests to the storage units of the first storage pool, where each storage pool may perform the distributed agreement protocol function to verify identity of the other storage pool.

When receiving a threshold number of favorable MoveSlice responses from at least some storage units of the first storage pool, the method continues at step 646 where the processing module facilitates deletion of the corresponding sets of encoded data slices. For example, the processing module issues delete slice requests to the storage units of the first storage pool and may further update directory associations of the data object and the storage pools.

It is noted that terminologies as may be used herein such as bit stream, stream, signal sequence, etc. (or their equivalents) have been used interchangeably to describe digital information whose content corresponds to any of a number of desired types (e.g., data, video, speech, audio, etc. any of which may generally be referred to as ‘data’).

As may be used herein, the terms “substantially” and “approximately” provides an industry-accepted tolerance for its corresponding term and/or relativity between items. Such an industry-accepted tolerance ranges from less than one percent to fifty percent and corresponds to, but is not limited to, component values, integrated circuit process variations, temperature variations, rise and fall times, and/or thermal noise. Such relativity between items ranges from a difference of a few percent to magnitude differences. As may also be used herein, the term(s) “configured to”, “operably coupled to”, “coupled to”, and/or “coupling” includes direct coupling between items and/or indirect coupling between items via an intervening item (e.g., an item includes, but is not limited to, a component, an element, a circuit, and/or a module) where, for an example of indirect coupling, the intervening item does not modify the information of a signal but may adjust its current level, voltage level, and/or power level. As may further be used herein, inferred coupling (i.e., where one element is coupled to another element by inference) includes direct and indirect coupling between two items in the same manner as “coupled to”. As may even further be used herein, the term “configured to”, “operable to”, “coupled to”, or “operably coupled to” indicates that an item includes one or more of power connections, input(s), output(s), etc., to perform, when activated, one or more its corresponding functions and may further include inferred coupling to one or more other items. As may still further be used herein, the term “associated with”, includes direct and/or indirect coupling of separate items and/or one item being embedded within another item.

As may be used herein, the term “compares favorably”, indicates that a comparison between two or more items, signals, etc., provides a desired relationship. For example, when the desired relationship is that signal 1 has a greater magnitude than signal 2, a favorable comparison may be achieved when the magnitude of signal 1 is greater than that of signal 2 or when the magnitude of signal 2 is less than that of signal 1. As may be used herein, the term “compares unfavorably”, indicates that a comparison between two or more items, signals, etc., fails to provide the desired relationship.

As may also be used herein, the terms “processing module”, “processing circuit”, “processor”, and/or “processing unit” may be a single processing device or a plurality of processing devices. Such a processing device may be a microprocessor, micro-controller, digital signal processor, microcomputer, central processing unit, field programmable gate array, programmable logic device, state machine, logic circuitry, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device that manipulates signals (analog and/or digital) based on hard coding of the circuitry and/or operational instructions. The processing module, module, processing circuit, and/or processing unit may be, or further include, memory and/or an integrated memory element, which may be a single memory device, a plurality of memory devices, and/or embedded circuitry of another processing module, module, processing circuit, and/or processing unit. Such a memory device may be a read-only memory, random access memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, static memory, dynamic memory, flash memory, cache memory, and/or any device that stores digital information. Note that if the processing module, module, processing circuit, and/or processing unit includes more than one processing device, the processing devices may be centrally located (e.g., directly coupled together via a wired and/or wireless bus structure) or may be distributedly located (e.g., cloud computing via indirect coupling via a local area network and/or a wide area network). Further note that if the processing module, module, processing circuit, and/or processing unit implements one or more of its functions via a state machine, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry, the memory and/or memory element storing the corresponding operational instructions may be embedded within, or external to, the circuitry comprising the state machine, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry. Still further note that, the memory element may store, and the processing module, module, processing circuit, and/or processing unit executes, hard coded and/or operational instructions corresponding to at least some of the steps and/or functions illustrated in one or more of the Figures. Such a memory device or memory element can be included in an article of manufacture.

One or more embodiments have been described above with the aid of method steps illustrating the performance of specified functions and relationships thereof. The boundaries and sequence of these functional building blocks and method steps have been arbitrarily defined herein for convenience of description. Alternate boundaries and sequences can be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships are appropriately performed. Any such alternate boundaries or sequences are thus within the scope and spirit of the claims. Further, the boundaries of these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined for convenience of description. Alternate boundaries could be defined as long as the certain significant functions are appropriately performed. Similarly, flow diagram blocks may also have been arbitrarily defined herein to illustrate certain significant functionality.

To the extent used, the flow diagram block boundaries and sequence could have been defined otherwise and still perform the certain significant functionality. Such alternate definitions of both functional building blocks and flow diagram blocks and sequences are thus within the scope and spirit of the claims. One of average skill in the art will also recognize that the functional building blocks, and other illustrative blocks, modules and components herein, can be implemented as illustrated or by discrete components, application specific integrated circuits, processors executing appropriate software and the like or any combination thereof.

In addition, a flow diagram may include a “start” and/or “continue” indication. The “start” and “continue” indications reflect that the steps presented can optionally be incorporated in or otherwise used in conjunction with other routines. In this context, “start” indicates the beginning of the first step presented and may be preceded by other activities not specifically shown. Further, the “continue” indication reflects that the steps presented may be performed multiple times and/or may be succeeded by other activities not specifically shown. Further, while a flow diagram indicates a particular ordering of steps, other orderings are likewise possible provided that the principles of causality are maintained.

The one or more embodiments are used herein to illustrate one or more aspects, one or more features, one or more concepts, and/or one or more examples. A physical embodiment of an apparatus, an article of manufacture, a machine, and/or of a process may include one or more of the aspects, features, concepts, examples, etc. described with reference to one or more of the embodiments discussed herein. Further, from figure to figure, the embodiments may incorporate the same or similarly named functions, steps, modules, etc. that may use the same or different reference numbers and, as such, the functions, steps, modules, etc. may be the same or similar functions, steps, modules, etc. or different ones.

Unless specifically stated to the contra, signals to, from, and/or between elements in a figure of any of the figures presented herein may be analog or digital, continuous time or discrete time, and single-ended or differential. For instance, if a signal path is shown as a single-ended path, it also represents a differential signal path. Similarly, if a signal path is shown as a differential path, it also represents a single-ended signal path. While one or more particular architectures are described herein, other architectures can likewise be implemented that use one or more data buses not expressly shown, direct connectivity between elements, and/or indirect coupling between other elements as recognized by one of average skill in the art.

The term “module” is used in the description of one or more of the embodiments. A module implements one or more functions via a device such as a processor or other processing device or other hardware that may include or operate in association with a memory that stores operational instructions. A module may operate independently and/or in conjunction with software and/or firmware. As also used herein, a module may contain one or more sub-modules, each of which may be one or more modules.

As may further be used herein, a computer readable memory includes one or more memory elements. A memory element may be a separate memory device, multiple memory devices, or a set of memory locations within a memory device. Such a memory device may be a read-only memory, random access memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, static memory, dynamic memory, flash memory, cache memory, and/or any device that stores digital information. The memory device may be in a form a solid state memory, a hard drive memory, cloud memory, thumb drive, server memory, computing device memory, and/or other physical medium for storing digital information.

While particular combinations of various functions and features of the one or more embodiments have been expressly described herein, other combinations of these features and functions are likewise possible. The present disclosure is not limited by the particular examples disclosed herein and expressly incorporates these other combinations. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for use in a processing device configured to implement a migration agent, the migration agent operating within a distributed storage network (DSN) configured to store data objects as sets of encoded data slices in a plurality of distributed storage units organized as storage pools, the method comprising: identifying, at the migration agent, one or more data objects stored as sets of encoded data slices in a first storage pool; for each data object of the one or more data objects, determining whether to migrate corresponding sets of encoded data slices from the first storage pool to another storage pool; for at least one data object of the one or more data objects: determining to migrate a set of encoded data slices associated with the at least one data object from the first storage pool to another storage pool; issuing a set of MoveSlice requests to storage units included in the first storage pool; receiving, at the migration agent, MoveSlice responses from at least some storage units included in the first storage pool; and in response to receiving a threshold number of favorable MoveSlice responses, facilitating deletion of the corresponding sets of encoded data slices stored in the first storage pool.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining whether to migrate corresponding sets of encoded data slices by performing a distributed agreement protocol (DAP) function on a DSN address of the at least one data object utilizing location weights of the storage pools to produce ranked scoring information.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: identifying an associated storage pool based on the ranked scoring information; and determining to migrate if the associated storage pool is different than the first storage pool.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein: the DAP function is performed using a decentralized agreement module included in the migration agent; and a MoveSlice request includes an identifier specifying the associated storage pool.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein: the associated storage pool is identified by performing the DAP function at each storage unit receiving a MoveSlice request.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein: identifying the one or more data objects includes at least one of: interpreting a DSN directory, interpreting entries of a dispersed hierarchical index, interpreting one or more list slice responses, or interpreting a received request.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to migrate corresponding sets of encoded data slices from the first storage pool to another storage pool includes: detecting a change in a location weight of one or more storage pools.
 8. A migration agent, comprising: a processing module including a processor and associated memory; a decentralized agreement module coupled to the processing module; the processing module configured to: identify one or more data objects stored as sets of encoded data slices in a first storage pool of a distributed storage network (DSN) configured to store data objects as sets of encoded data slices in a plurality of distributed storage units organized into storage pools; determine, for each data object of the one or more data objects, whether to migrate corresponding sets of encoded data slices from the first storage pool to another storage pool; for at least one data object of the one or more data objects: determine to migrate a set of encoded data slices associated with the at least one data object from the first storage pool to another storage pool; issue a set of MoveSlice requests to storage units included in the first storage pool; receive, at the migration agent, MoveSlice responses from at least some storage units included in the first storage pool; and in response to receiving a threshold number of favorable MoveSlice responses, facilitate deletion of the corresponding sets of encoded data slices stored in the first storage pool.
 9. The migration agent of claim 8, wherein the processing module is further configured to: determine whether to migrate corresponding sets of encoded data slices by performing a distributed agreement protocol (DAP) function on a DSN address of the at least one data object utilizing location weights of the storage pools to produce ranked scoring information.
 10. The migration agent of claim 9, the processing module configured to: identify an associated storage pool based on the ranked scoring information; and determine to migrate if the associated storage pool is different than the first storage pool.
 11. The migration agent of claim 10, wherein: the DAP function is performed using the decentralized agreement module; and a MoveSlice request includes an identifier specifying the associated storage pool.
 12. The migration agent of claim 8, wherein: identifying the one or more data objects includes at least one of: interpreting a DSN directory, interpreting entries of a dispersed hierarchical index, interpreting one or more list slice responses, or interpreting a received request.
 13. The migration agent of claim 8, wherein determining whether to migrate corresponding sets of encoded data slices from the first storage pool to another storage pool includes: detecting a change in a location weight of one or more storage pools.
 14. A distributed storage network (DSN) comprising: a plurality of distributed storage task execution (DST EX) units organized as storage pools, each of the plurality of DST EX units including a plurality of distributed storage (DS) memories configured to store data objects as sets of encoded data slices; a migration agent coupled to the plurality of DST EX units via a communication network, the migration agent including: a processing module including a processor and associated memory; a decentralized agreement module coupled to the processing module; the processing module configured to: identify one or more data objects stored as sets of encoded data slices in a first storage pool; determine, for each data object of the one or more data objects, whether to migrate corresponding sets of encoded data slices from the first storage pool to another storage pool; for at least one data object of the one or more data objects: determine to migrate a set of encoded data slices associated with the at least one data object from the first storage pool to another storage pool; issue a set of MoveSlice requests to storage units included in the first storage pool; receive, at the migration agent, MoveSlice responses from at least some storage units included in the first storage pool; and in response to receiving a threshold number of favorable MoveSlice responses, facilitate deletion of the corresponding sets of encoded data slices stored in the first storage pool.
 15. The distributed storage network (DSN) of claim 14, the migration agent further configured to: determine whether to migrate corresponding sets of encoded data slices by performing a distributed agreement protocol (DAP) function on a DSN address of the at least one data object utilizing location weights of the storage pools to produce ranked scoring information.
 16. The distributed storage network (DSN) of claim 15, the migration agent further configured to: identify an associated storage pool based on the ranked scoring information; and determine to migrate if the associated storage pool is different than the first storage pool.
 17. The distributed storage network (DSN) of claim 16, wherein: the DAP function is performed using the decentralized agreement module and the migration agent is configured to generate a MoveSlice request including an identifier specifying the associated storage pool.
 18. The distributed storage network (DSN) of claim 16, each of the plurality of DST EX units is further configured to: identify the associated storage pool by performing the DAP function.
 19. The distributed storage network (DSN) of claim 14, the migration agent further configured to: identify the one or more data objects includes at least one of: interpreting a DSN directory, interpreting entries of a dispersed hierarchical index, interpreting one or more list slice responses, or interpreting a received request.
 20. The distributed storage network (DSN) of claim 14, the migration agent further configured to: detect a change in a location weight of one or more storage pools. 